Last Few Days

It's been an up and down few days here in my part of Michigan. Sunday and Monday we had lovely glorious sunshine and temperatures up above freezing. I so enjoyed those days. I ended up going outside more than I was inside. The garden was quite quiet as though because everything had been cleared away there were other places to get food and go and visit. It didn't last long though. Wednesday night we had a snowstorm that continued on into Thursday and even this morning. The birds were out there early. I could hear them chirping away. The bird table had been covered with a fresh layer of snow and the birds couldn't get to the food below the snow. I tumbled outside in my pajamas and snow boots to put some food out. They have been quite busy today. I suppose now that everything is covered again they are looking for easy food.

I'm not sure what this blue jay was thinking. I was closer to the fence than I usually am - this was on Wednesday before the snow - and he wasn't sure whether to grab the nut or not.

I haven't sorted out the photos I've taken from the snow days but this is one I snapped with my phone out of my back door while the snow was coming down this afternoon.

I can't wait until Spring when there are different visitors to the garden. The raccoons haven't shown themselves for a while and neither has the possum.

Squirrels

It seems that the squirrels are more interested in the food in the garden than the birds at the moment. There are lots of black squirrels around. Some always seem to go for the food on the table, but there are one or two who seem to have discovered where the stash of peanuts are and go for them. I watched one the other day searching around, gathering a nut and then burying it under the thin layer of ice and snow. It was then quite funny to watch one of the little red squirrels nose around the garden and dig up some of those peanuts! I wonder how surprised the black squirrel was to discover his stash gone.

The little red squirrels seem to find nuts everywhere. They have discovered the ones up high waiting for the blue jays.

He then races up to the birdhouse that is on the garage and stuffs them inside the birdhouse! It is so funny to watch.

I hope no-one finds his stash - though I think he comes back and moves it later. The antics of squirrels!

Northern Flicker

A lovely colourful Northern Flicker was a visitor to my garden recently. This was over the other side of the fence, in the front garden, right outside my living room window. It was icy outside and spitting something between ice and snow. He sat on the bird feeder for quite a while and me, wanting a halfway decent photo, climbed up on top of a table thingy that was near the window so I could take a photo without the window screen being in the way.  He looked a little confused as though wondering what that weird stuff falling on his head was.

I love these woodpeckers. I see them quite regularly in the garden though a lot of times they are on the ground feeding. They are really quite colourful. They have spotted chests, lovely grey heads, a red heart on the back of their heads and the males have black mustaches. When they fly you can see bright yellow feathers that are hidden when they are still.

This picture isn't the greatest but you can see the yellow feathers underneath. This one was taken in the back garden. This guy did not like a sparrow trying to get close to the suet feeder.

New Year...New Start

It's been a while since I wrote in here, but this time I am determined to keep up with the blog. I am designating today a good day to start again.

As it is winter here in Michigan there isn't too much going on in the garden. The days are short and the birds have only a short period each day to feed. They are all tucked up again by the time mid-afternoon draws in. Everything is cloudy and grey - there is a layer of ice in the garden from the storm last week.

A quartet of crows have been visiting the garden. They like the peanuts I put out for the blue jays.

There is also a hawk that seems to circle around. The blue jays usually squawk out a warning before it catches anything, but once in a while it gets lucky. Husband says last week (while I was away) it caught one of the sparrows. Once in a while the hawks come close enough to capture a photo of.

It was quite windy this day and the feathers were blowing in the wind. There was a few snowflakes floating around. The hawk watched quite carefully and patiently for a little while before flying off in hopes of finding easier prey.

Long Hot Summer...and New Start

This is the first post in a while. I've been away a lot of the summer. Since I've been back I've been taking lots of photos of things going on in the garden. I got a new phone before I left in early July and have been really enjoying the art conversion part of the photo thingy on the phone. So, as a first post, I thought I'd share a couple of conversions. They are kind of fun.

This is one of the raccoons that seem to have taken over the garden while I've been gone. They are really funny to watch. I'll probably be sharing more of them later.

Blue Jays. Who doesn't love these wonderful birds? They are such tell-tales of the gardens and woods. I love watching them and hearing their various calls.

The bird table. Definitely something to watch. The birds and squirrels sometimes fight for table time and the treats put out there. Last year there was a chipmunk that would make it up on the table, but this year there hasn't been one brave enough to climb.

Stubby

I was looking through photos on my computer, looking to organise June last year and came across these photos. They certainly made me smile. Last year in our garden, for several months, we had a regular squirrel visitor to the garden. We knew it was exactly the same squirrel as it was missing a tail with only a stubby point remaining. Stubby was a much loved visitor to the garden, but we haven't seen him since winter so I'm assuming he didn't make it through the harsh winter. When he first came to the garden he was quite shy and ran when we came out, yet towards the autumn he was hanging out - literally - on the feeding pole even when we were outside. I swear he was laughing at us. There were times when he had what seemed like a cheeky little grin on his face.

We've only had feeders in the garden a year or so and it still amazes me that all the visitors seem to have distinct personalities. I'm sure that anyone who watches the creatures that visit their garden thinks the same.

Been Away...

There have been no tales from the garden because we've been away. We spent a week camping up in the U.P of Michigan. We did leave some suet cages out while we were away and our middle son, who was watching the house, put out bird seed when he came to feed/stay with the cat. One day one of the deer came up and ate the food before the birds could get to it! Yesterday when we came back I put out some food and the birds went nuts. They had certainly missed their food!

Random photos today before I get back into the swing of things.